


Behind Closed Doors

by DieTheSlashAddict, Rini2012, The_Reverend



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 1980s queer culture, 80s culture, 80s references, AU, Abusive Neil Hargrove, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down, Anal Fingering, Billy Hargrove Being an Asshole, Brotherly Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Bullying, CPS, Child Abuse, Christmas, Closeted Relationship, Couch Sex, El doesn't have powers, F/M, Fighting Back, First Kiss, First Time Bottoming, Flirty Billy Hargrove, Foster Parents, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Gay Will Byers, Halloween, Harringrove, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hopper is awesome, Hospitalization, I haven't seen the original Nightmare on Elm Street, M/M, Making Out, Nancy Wheeler Is a Good Friend, Neil Hargrove Being an Asshole, Neil gets what he deserves, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Power Bottom Billy Hargrove, Smoking, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Struggles with Sexuality, Supportive Nancy Wheeler, Top Steve Harrington, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, abuse victim mindset, against an Abuser, backseat car sex, but I tried to describe Johnny Depp's scene, closeted Steve Harrington, father son fight, fight, hopsitalization, nervous Steve Harrington, note passing, note trading, small town homophobia, sneaking into a movie theatre, stranger things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2020-07-23 00:43:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20001169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DieTheSlashAddict/pseuds/DieTheSlashAddict, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rini2012/pseuds/Rini2012, https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Reverend/pseuds/The_Reverend
Summary: Billy Hargrove was just forced out of LA and into Hawkins. He hates the town, hates his dad, hates everything about this. However, Steve Harrington isn't too bad on the eyes.Steve Harrington is still recovering from what happened last year. He isn't popular anymore, and he's glad of it. And right now he's worried about his attraction to the new kid Billy Hargrove.This is an AU without the Upside Down. Mainly as a way to cope with Billy's death in season 3, but also to educate the teenagers who write about this and accidentally make the story homophobic due to lack of sensitivity readers. AKA I found a story, it ended up being bad, so I decided to try and do it better.Tags will be updated as the story progresses.





	1. October 30th, 1984

Steve was worried. Not about the fact that it was close to the anniversary of Will’s disappearance, or that Nancy had broken up with him a few days ago, or even that his dad was talking about forcing him to get a job next summer.

It was about his interest in the new kid, Billy Hargrove.

Steve could admit, in a very heterosexual way, that Hargrove was an attractive guy. It was no wonder that the girls were falling all over him from the moment he pulled into the parking lot in his Camaro. As the day progressed, it was obvious that Hargrove had an air of self confidence while also working hard in his classes.

Then during basketball practice… Steve was a bit conflicted. He acted like an absolute asshole and constantly knocked Steve to the ground. Then in the showers, the guy had a freaking toned body. And yet he still acted like an asshole saying “There’s plenty of bitches in the sea.”

So what was the big problem here?

Everyone, including his dad, would kill him if they knew he had a crush on Hargrove.

There was no way in hell he’d act on it. He always knew he’d been a little different, though he never dared to give it a label. Giving it a label, putting himself into that category, meant it was real. He had already risked being noticed when he glanced at Hargrove multiple times during class. Definitely not the way to seem discreet about a crush… but Hargrove didn’t notice, right?

Billy actually did. He found it cute that Harrington was looking at him, and he knew that look all too well. That was the look of longing all of the girls had been giving him since he showed up, only it was mixed with denial. That was adorable, Harrington in the closet trying to be straight. Billy had actually picked out out a few closeted men and women in the town, and since it was a small town, he couldn’t blame them for being closeted.

That was one of the things he missed about California: the queer community was very active and accepting. There he could go to a gay bar with a fake I.D. and get laid no muss no fuss, at least when he felt like getting dick. Here, there were probably only five queer people total (even a violet marriage), and that wasn’t including the Middle School kids Max was classmates with. That Byers kid was  _ definitely _ gay, but he got bullied for it. At least the kid was smart enough to not say anything.

Harrington wasn’t too bad on the eyes either. He could see why girls liked him. And his body when it was dripping with water? Billy found himself barely able to resist just pinning the guy to the wall and kissing him senseless. However, he had to be careful. His gaydar wasn’t 100% accurate and he’d made bad calls before in his early days of exploration.

Thankfully, there was a Halloween party tomorrow, which meant he could test the waters.   
  



	2. October 31st, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a bit frisky at the Halloween party, and it freaks Steve out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all the people who came here from TikTok: my phone decided to kick the bucket at random, so I won't be online there for a few days, probably until the 31st. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Ever since last year, Steve kind of fell out of love with parties like this. He came because he  _ thought _ Nancy was coming with him, they’d even planned costumes together, but then right as he was about to leave, Nancy called and said she was stuck escorting the kids to go trick-or-treating. It wasn’t like they were a couple or anything, just really good friends, and he decided  _ ‘fuck it, I’m already in costume, I might as well go’ _ . So that’s how he ended up being the awkward guy standing alone at a party.

Right when Harrington showed up, Billy decided to try and impress him. The others told him about the keg stand record, so he broke it in no time at all. However, when Billy and the two other guys - he didn’t bother to remember their names - went up to Harrington and told him, he just shrugged and walked away. Billy was kind of shocked, but the freckle-faced asshole just patted him on the back and said,

“Don’t worry, Hargrove. Steve just became really fucking boring. You’re still badass.”

Billy didn’t dignify that with a verbal response, just a glare. In all honesty, he hated the whole popularity thing, but you had to keep up appearances in order to stay out of trouble. He didn’t want even more bruises than the ones Neil gave him on the regular.

Steve decided to retreat to the bathroom for a bit. Once he took care of business, he looked at himself in the mirror and took off his shades. What had happened since last year to change him? Well, saving a bunch of kids from a crazy cult definitely helped in that, so did dating Nancy, who was purely amazing. He hadn’t been King Steve for quite a while now, and he got made fun of for his fall from that title. Honestly, now that he was an outsider looking in, he was glad that he wasn’t popular anymore. He was such an asshole before. He sighed and shook his head.

“Really wasn’t worth it.” He muttered.

Billy had pressed his ear to the door to make sure that it was Harrington in the bathroom. He had no idea what “wasn’t worth it” meant, but at least it was a confirmation that he was in there. Now was probably the best time for Billy to make his move. It was also weird, ever since that freckled asshole said Harrington’s name, Billy had an urge to use it instead of the last name.

Right when Steve started to wash his hands, the door to the bathroom opened.

“Occupied!” He said with a raised voice.

“I know.” A familiar voice said.

Steve looked up in the mirror and saw Hargrove shutting the door behind him. His upper body was still exposed under the leather jacket, he was a bit red in the face (probably from drinking), and his jeans were hung low. The way he was looking at him, it was like Steve was a hot meal he couldn’t wait to devour.

“What… what are you doing here?” Steve asked as he turned around.

Billy smirked. Steve looked pretty good in his Greaser costume, hair slicked back, shirt hugging him in all the right places, and the jeans… they hugged his ass and groin just right. Billy would probably jump him right then and there, but he had a mission, and the last thing he needed was a kick in the nuts or a broken nose.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Billy asked as he locked the door.

“No..?”

Hargrove crowded Steve against the counter, his body only inches away from the other boy’s. Despite being shorter, Hargrove has a presence that made him seem bigger. And damn did that cologne smell good, with hints of beer and cigarettes.

“I’ve seen you watching me.” Billy whispered. “You probably think I didn’t notice-.”

“Listen, I’m sorry-.”

“It’s adorable how you’re in denial.”

Steve was shocked. He thought he was about to get pummeled for acting queer, yet Hargrove seemed to be…  _ into it _ . He didn’t think that was possible, and yet Hargrove was moving closer to him like he wanted to kiss Steve.

Adorable was definitely the right word to describe how Steve was acting. It was like he was a schoolgirl who had a crush, but had no idea the guy she liked was into her too. Billy made sure to watch Steve’s reaction as he continued to move in close. His pupils dilated, his cheeks pinked, and his breath became quickened. It seemed Billy’s gaydar was spot on this time.

“You really don’t care?” Steve whispered when Hargrove was merely a half an inch away from his lips.

Billy chuckled. “How’s this for an answer?”

And Billy closed the distance between them with a kiss. He made sure to start off soft, so Steve could push him away if he wanted. It was a chaste movement of lips, yet it was very much being reciprocated, and deepened by Steve as he practically gripped Billy like a koala to a tree. Flattered wasn’t a word he would use for Steve’s enthusiasm… but it definitely was making him horny. And his lips were like a candy he couldn’t get enough of.

Fuck, Hargrove could kiss. Steve wasn’t even paying attention to his body’s reactions, he could only focus on those damn lips and that amazing tongue. Licking his lips must have been practice for kissing or something. He felt Hargrove slip a hand into his hair, and tugged lightly. It made Steve grunt, and before he knew it, Hargrove was pulling away, and Steve realized he definitely had a hard on. Not only that, but Steve had wrapped his arms around the blond and had even hooked a leg around his waist. How the fuck had Hargrove done that to him?

“You’re pretty enthusiastic.” Billy said. “Hope I’ll get to see more of it.”

Steve didn’t say anything as Hargove pulled away. Did he just suggest they make this a  _ regular thing _ ? There were so many thoughts and emotions going through Steve’s head that he could only stare at Hargrove as he winked at him, and left the bathroom.

Apparently Billy had rendered him speechless, and he was proud of that. There were a few ways this could go, and he hoped for the most positive outcome: Steve would try to talk to him tomorrow at school. Probably a note in his locker if the rumors were true. He looked forward to the result of tonight, no matter what the outcome would be. The more exciting the better.

***

At around 10:30 pm, Steve climbed up the side of the Wheeler’s house to Nancy’s window. He knew she would still be awake studying for a test they had on Friday, and her light was still on. He  _ needed _ someone to talk to about what happened, and despite them being broken up, he knew he could talk to her. He knocked on her window, and a few moments later, she opened it with a confused look.

“What are you doing?” She whispered.

“I need to talk to you, and it’s too risky to do over the phone.”

Her expression turned serious. “Is this about the-?”

“No, but it’s still pretty serious, and I have no one else to talk to.”

Nancy’s expression softened a bit, and she stepped aside to let Steve in. Steve climbed in awkwardly, and as expected, Nancy’s desk had her textbook, notes, and flashcards strewn about on it. Always the overachiever.

“So what exactly brought you here so late? I thought you were at the party?”

Steve ran a hand over his face. “I was… and something happened at the party.” He sat down on the bed with a sigh. “You know that new kid that showed up yesterday? The one with the Camaro?”

“I’ve seen him around.” She answered as she sat down next to him. “I think his name is Billy Hargrove. His little sister goes to school with Mike. Why? Did he do something?”

“He did.” Steve blushed and looked at his shoes. “He… he kissed me.”

Silence, and after a moment, he looked up at her. Nancy had a shocked expression on her face, wide eyes and eyebrows raised. Steve simply waited for her to say something,  _ anything _ .

“He… kissed you?”

Steve nodded.

“Was it… consensual?”

“I mean, I didn’t expect it, but…”

She seemed to put the pieces together then. “But you liked it.”

Steve buried his face in his hands with a groan. Hearing that out loud somehow made his heart race with happiness and fear at the same time. On one hand, he liked the kiss, he liked it  _ a lot _ . But on the other hand, what would everyone say about him if they found out? Will already got it bad and he was in Middle School, teenagers were worse!

“What am I gonna do, Nance? It’s like one minute I’m about to leave the party, the next freaking Billy Hargrove starts coming onto me and kisses me, right there in the bathroom!”

“Wait, he found you at the party, and kissed you?”

“Yeah. I was washing my hands and he just strode in like he owned the place. And he just…” Steve fell back onto the bed in anguish. “He knew I’d been looking at him, Nance! He said ‘it’s adorable that you’re in denial’. Does this mean everyone knows and it’ll somehow get to my dad?”

“Ok, well your dad wouldn’t find out if everyone knew. It’s not like he has spies at school giving him updates on your life. Second, I’ve heard California is pretty… accepting, so maybe he just knew because he’s experienced it before?”

“No shit he’s experienced it before. Have you seen him?”

“Not up close, but all of the girls keep talking about how ‘hot’ he is.”

“And he said he wants to do something like that again. I don’t know how that would work without getting the shit beaten out of us on the street.”

The thought of walking down the street with Hargrove and getting jumped terrified Steve. He’d heard stories from the news about gay kids getting beat up and killed for being out of the closet, he didn’t want that to happen to him or Hargrove. Steve didn’t miss the bruises he saw on Hargrove’s arms in the locker room after practice, which meant he got into enough scrapes as it was.

“Then keep it quiet.” Nancy said out of nowhere.

Steve’s head snapped up. “What?”

“It’s true, there aren’t that many accepting people in Hawkins, and it could be dangerous, but… I don’t think it’s bad to…  _ explore _ in this case.”

Steve chuckled. “Like how you  _ explored _ with me?”

“Exactly, actually. And honestly, after everything that’s happened, this isn’t the most danger you’ve been in.”

Nancy had a point there. Compared to being chased by gun-toting cultists, this whole thing with Hargrove was pretty tame. Still dangerous, still crazy, but not the craziest thing he’d experienced.

Yeah, he could try exploring that.

“I’ll send him a note on Friday.” Steve said as he sat up.

“Why Friday?”

“I don’t wanna seem too desperate, y’know? Plus, I have no idea what I’ll put in the note, and having a day to figure that out would be nice.”

“That’s fair.” Nancy smiled at him and placed a hand over Steve’s. “Good luck.”

Steve smiled back. “Thanks Nancy.”   
  



	3. November 2nd, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy and Steve finally talk about what happened at the party.

Billy expected that Steve wouldn’t immediately start talking to him about what happened at the party. If the _King Steve_ reputation was anything to go by, he was smooth, not desperate, which meant he’d keep his distance for a while. So it was no surprise when he went to his locker after third period two days later, and found a note had been slid in between the gaps in his locker. The handwriting definitely seemed masculine on the outside, which meant it could only be one person.

He opened the note, and it read,

_Meet me behind the football bleachers after school._

_We need to talk._

_-Steve_

  


Billy smirked. Short and to the point, no specific answer so he would show up. Smart.

***

Steve waited anxiously in a hidden spot behind the bleachers. He’d been on edge all day ever since he slid the note into Hargrove’s locker, he’d even made sure to fake going to the bathroom first period in order to deliver it without anyone noticing. Every time he heard footsteps near the bleachers, he would look around, but it’d just be classmates headed to football practice. He just kept waiting and it was suspenseful.

“You’re not being subtle at all.” Someone behind him said.

Steve practically jumped out of his skin and spun around. He only relaxed a tiny bit at the sight of Hargrove leaning against the bleachers, cigarette in hand. He had a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Didn’t meant to scare you.” He said.

“It’s - uh - my fault, don’t worry about it.” Steve didn’t know what else to say, so he winged it. “So you got my note?”

Billy held up the piece of notebook paper. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Billy took a long drag of his cigarette. It was so fucking adorable how nervous Steve was being, and he almost wanted to kiss him again just to see how he’d react. But now wasn’t the time or place for that, someone could easily walk by and see them.

“I have a feeling you have questions.”

“Yeah, actually… like how you knew that I was… interested?”

Billy chuckled. “Well, there’s a few things I figured out about you.”

“And that would be...?”

“You don’t want people to know that you play for both teams, and you’ve taken the safe route of dating girls because it’s easier.”

Steve gaped at him. “How… how did you figure all that out?”

“I’ve seen that look before. Only letting yourself look but being guilty as shit about it. That’s why I said you’re in denial. Also, grabbing me like you did is a pretty big giveaway.”

Steve blushed and looked off for a minute to collect his thoughts. Yeah, he wanted to try this _thing_ with Hargrove out, but what exactly would it be classified as? The way Hargrove had been on him at the party suggested he wanted something sexual, so would it also include dates on the side? Just physical stuff? He needed to know.

“So what exactly do you want from me?” He asked. “You don’t seem like the type of guy who likes relationships.”

“You’d be right about that.” Billy confirmed. “But you’ve never even done anything with a guy, right?”

“Fuck no, my dad would kill me.”

“And so would mine. So I’m thinking we just have an arrangement where we fool around. Nothing serious, just two guys getting off. How does that sound?”

In all honesty, Billy knew the odds were against them if they started an actual relationship. He didn’t want to risk either of their necks, and places like Hawkins were more brutal about homophobia than LA. It was the reason he’d met a lot of gay kids who’d legged it to LA, they knew there were more accepting people there than in their hometowns or with their families. He wasn’t willing to be one of those kids, or to make Steve one of them.

Steve leaned back against a pole as he considered that option. The party was the first time he’d ever kissed a guy, and he’d never been approached by other guys like Hargrove was doing right now. This was probably the only time he’d get to experiment in this way for a long time, and he’d be able to decide if he liked doing things with boys after all. Doing this with no strings attached could probably work if no one knew.

“Okay.”

Billy got a smoulder on his face. Gay virgins were always fun, especially if they didn’t know anything about gay sex. And all he had to do was get Max to cover for him so that Neil wouldn’t try and track him down.

“So how about tomorrow night you meet me at the junkyard? I’ll bring a few beers, you wear things that aren’t too complicated, and we’ll see how the night goes.”

Steve tried to ignore how fast his heart was racing at the prospect. “Sure, we can meet up there at 8.”

Billy stomped out his cigarette. “See you there.”

And with that, he walked off toward the parking lot.

What the hell had Steve gotten himself into?  



	4. November 3rd, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy has to 'convince' Max to cover for him and he meets Steve in the junkyard.
> 
> However, there might be a price to pay for leaving Max home alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: smut, sibling bullying, child abuse by a parent, homophobic slurs (accidental and on purpose).
> 
> Also thank you to my friend Die for helping me write the dirty talk in this chapter. They have way more experience in that than I do. And thank you to bentnotbroken1 for looking over the abusive scenes.
> 
> Finally, back then "queer" was considered a homophobic slur. I get that we've reclaimed the word as a way to say we're part of the LGBT community, but this was 1984 where only a year before LGBT rights were considered Civil Rights in a single state.

“No way.” The little shit said.

“You don’t get to say no to this.” Billy barked back.

“Yes I do, and I am.”

Of fucking course, Billy’s piece of shit step sister wasn’t agreeing to help Billy with his alibi while he was at the junkyard with Steve. Why didn’t she get that he was so hard on her because he was protecting her? It should have been fucking obvious.

“If Neil came after me and found out what I was doing, he would kill me, actually murder me.”

“Then maybe don’t do shit to piss him off, you ever think of that?” Max said as she passed Billy to go to the kitchen.

“It’s not just my neck on the line. We’re not in California anymore, you know what they do to people like me in a place like this Shit-town.”

Max got out a soda from the fridge and opened it, still looking like she didn’t care at all. “Let me hang out with who I want and  _ maybe _ I’ll help you.”

Billy smacked the soda out of her hand in a fit of anger and backed Max up threateningly against the counter. Who the fuck did she think she was to give him orders like that!? She wasn’t anything but a piece of shit. He’d been able to hide his gay activities from Neil for years, and Max kept getting in trouble because she couldn’t hide certain things. He had more experience than she did.

“I’m protecting you by not letting you see Sinclair,” Billy growled and pointed a finger in her face. “you’re just too selfish to see that. If Neil saw you with him, you’d have bigger problems on your hands than me. So you will  _ never _ see that kid again, and you’ll tell Neil that I’m on a date with a girl from school. You got me?”

Clearly terrified, Max nodded and Billy backed off.

***

Steve checked himself three different times in the mirror in the hour before he had to leave. He did his usual routine for styling his hair, tried to do a casual outfit that was easy to take off, and even put some condoms in his wallet. He went with a somewhat light grey jacket, a pair of jeans, and a light blue shirt. He didn’t exactly know what they were going to do, but it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to condoms.

He told his parents that he’d be going out to a movie with some friends and he’d be back around 10. As usual, they didn’t care and just told him to have fun. When 7:45 rolled around, Steve got into his car and headed toward the junkyard. The entire time his heart beat out of his chest and he embarrassingly got a partial hard on just from the anticipation.

Billy hyped himself up the way he normally would before getting laid. He did his hair, put on cologne, and made sure he looked good. Neil wouldn’t be back until 9 because it was date night, and he planned on coming back at 10:30 if things went well. He chose his blue button-up (with about 5 buttons open), the jeans that made his ass look great, his leather biker jacket, and a pair of work boots. Hell yeah, he looked fuckable.

Why was he putting in so much effort? He wanted to keep Steve around for longer than one night. He wanted to make sure that Steve would be absolutely blown away by him and his skills, and he’d come back for more. When It was around 7:30, he yelled to Max that he was leaving and to stay out of trouble, then got into his car and drove off. He made sure to take the backroads so no one would notice his car.

Steve checked his watch anxiously as he waited for Hargrove to show up. He didn’t know what he should expect. Kissing? Probably. Touching? Maybe. Sex? How did that even work here? He didn’t know if he was ready to have gay sex yet, he’d rather take his time and explore the different options with Hargrove.

Eventually, Billy pulled his car into the junkyard and saw Steve’s car already parked. Steve was sitting on the hood of the car, and looked at Billy through the windshield as he pulled up on the right beside Steve’s car. Steve looked pretty damn good despite how nervous he obviously was. And Billy had a little twitch in his pants from the fact that Steve clearly took his advice about not wearing something complicated. Billy parked his car, but kept it on since it was cold, and got out with a smile.

“Glad you could make it.” He said.

Steve tried to act casual and shrugged before he got off of his car. “Doubt I’ll get an opportunity like this again, at least for a while.”

“If you stay in Hawkins, probably.” Hargrove reached into the open back seat window, and pulled out a six pack of beer. “How about we get a buzz on then get to the fun part?”

Steve had thought about how getting a bit tipsy would affect his experience. When he had sex with Nancy that first time, and had a few beers in his system, it was a bit numb. He wanted a full experience of whatever was going to happen tonight without alcohol.

“I uh… don’t really wanna be buzzed for this.”

Billy paused with a raised eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Things don’t really feel as good to me if I’m buzzed or drunk. And this is our first time doing something like this, so I want to-.”

“Have a full experience?”

“Yeah.”

Billy chuckled. “You’re pretty old fashioned for being a homo.”

Steve seemed to freeze up at that statement for a moment, and Billy pretended not to notice as he put the beers back in his car. Wow, he was really deep in the closet if that made him uncomfortable. He should’ve figured; small town, small town ideals. It made him miss California even more.

“So…” Billy took a few steps toward Steve with a (hopefully) sexy smile. “Your car or mine?”

“I have a feeling you have more sex in your car, so let’s go with yours.”

“Afraid someone will smell all the testosterone in your car?”

“Something like that.”

“You’re lucky I planned for that.” Hargrove pointed to the backseat, and Steve noticed multiple pillows on them. “Without padding, it’s uncomfortable as shit to lay down in the back of my car.

Hargrove opened the door for Steve, and he climbed in. The car smelled of cigarettes and the interior was obviously well kept, probably recently cleaned out. Steve scooted to the right side of the car and Hargrove climbed in after him, then shut the door. Now that they were here, about to do things, Steve felt extremely out of his depth. He was nervous, had to stop himself from breathing fast, and was embarrassingly already getting hard.

“So what do you wanna start with?” Billy asked.

“Um…”

Billy found that letting the inexperienced one take the lead always helped. It made things less tense and if there was a specific thing his partner wanted to try, he’d guide them through it. Eventually, after a bit of silence, Steve asked,

“Can we kiss for now?”

Billy smiled. “Sure.”

Steve let Billy move in first, and he made sure to be slow in order to let Steve initiate. However, right when their lips were only an inch apart, Billy felt Steve’s breath on his skin. It was quick and panicked, and that wouldn’t do at all.

“Calm down.” Billy whispered. “It’s just kissing.”

“Yeah,” Steve shakily said. “but it’s different.”

Billy backed up with a sweet smile. “You’re thinking too much.”

Steve shrugged. “I guess.”

“Who the hell would come to the junkyard at night, Harrington?”

Somehow, that kind of made sense. The thing holding Steve back was that Hargrove was a guy, and being afraid they’d get caught. No one came to the junkyard on weekends, they went out to a movie or party or stayed home and relaxed. With an exhale, Steve nodded, placed his hands on Hargrove’s shoulders, and leaned in.

 _‘Finally’_ was what Billy thought when Steve finally bit the fucking bullet. Billy moved in close as well with hooded eyes and gently placed his lips on Steve’s. The kiss was chaste, soft, but it was clear that Steve was exploring. Billy decided to add a bit by cradling the side of Steve’s jaw with his hand and widening his mouth a bit.

Kissing a guy was… different. Hargrove’s lips were more firm compared to a girl’s, there was a bit of a scratch from his artfully placed stubble, and the hand on his face was larger than a girl’s. It kind of felt good, and that was scary to admit. He deepened the kiss a bit, and felt Hargrove lean into him more with a sigh. He was glad he wasn’t the only one enjoying this. And embarrassingly enough, Steve was starting to get hard from this.

Billy slipped in a little bit of tongue, and heard Steve moan so quietly he could barely hear it. In response, Steve slid his tongue against Billy’s and damn was he talented. Billy almost shivered at the thought of that tongue being used on his cock, but now wasn’t the time for that.

Or was it?

After a few minutes of making out, Steve felt Hargrove’s hand drift down his front. It was just the tip of his fingers, but it sent sparks through him. Hargrove trailed kisses across his cheek and down his neck, just started sucking a hickey at the junction connecting his neck to his shoulder. How the hell did he know that was one of his weak spots? Somehow, Steve had been backed into the wall of the car and Hargrove was just all over him. He started to moan, little by little, and gasped when Hargrove started to massage his dick through his pants.

Billy smirked at the fact that Steve was already hard. He felt it up a bit, trying to get a feel for the size without pulling it out of his pants. Seemed to be about a little over six inches when hard, so above average. Billy himself was about seven inches, so this would be interesting. As slowly as he could, he trailed the tip of his tongue up Steve’s neck to his ear and whispered,

“I think you’ll like this even more.”

Before Steve could ask what, Hargrove straddled his lap so one knee was on a pillow and his other foot was on the floor, gazed down at him lustfully, and started grinding his crotch into Steve’s. It was like an electric shock of pleasure shot up from his cock, and it was so powerful that Steve threw his head back with a gasp. Unfortunately he hit the back of his head on the window with a small ‘ow’. He felt Hargrove’s hand cradle the back of his head, all without losing his pace, and said,

“Careful.”

He smashed his mouth into Steve’s, and quickened the pace a fraction. Steve was embarrassed to admit that he probably wouldn’t make it til 9:30. His mind was already being fucking blown by how much he enjoyed this, and Hargrove’s tongue was masterful when it wasn’t talking shit. He couldn’t help the noises coming out of him at that point, all he could do was hold onto Hargrove’s hips and thrust up with him. He was already close to coming after only ten minutes.

Billy had a feeling Steve wouldn’t last long, few who struggled with their sexuality did. It felt pretty damn good on Billy’s end too, and the way Steve thrust his hips up to meet his made it feel even better. And _fuck_ , the way Steve was moaning was such a fucking turn on. Billy actually started to moan himself, and knew this was a good time to bring in his silver tongue.

"That’s it Sweetheart, ‘wanna hear you.” He groaned. “You sound so hot, moaning like a fucking dream for me, like you can’t get enough.” Steve involuntarily thrust harder and gasped, which just spurred Billy on. “Do you like that? So hard for me, think you'll come in your pants from this? Just come in your pants like an untouched virgin?"

“Fuck.” Steve gasped out.

Jesus Christ, who knew Hargrove had such a dirty mouth? And who knew that Steve would be so into it? He was struggling to not come so quickly, and bit onto Hargrove’s neck in order not to. He heard Hargrove moan loudly above him and felt him grip his arms so tightly it hurt.

"You need it don’t you?” Hargrove was starting to sound shaky. “Are you close? Gonna come for me, Stevie?"

Billy was vaguely aware that the car was shaking from how hard they were going at it, but he was more focused on chasing his orgasm. The pain from where Steve was biting him, the matched thrusts, the delicious noises he was making, it was almost too much. He could feel himself getting harder and his balls drawing up.

“Come for me. Come on, come for me.” Billy groaned.

Steve managed to grab Hargrove’s ass and practically force his hips down onto his as he came. It was probably the second most powerful orgasm he’d ever had in his life, and somehow Hargrove wasn’t even finished yet. In a moment of bravery (or orgasmic bliss), Steve grabbed Hargrove’s hard on and started rubbing it through his jeans.

Billy flinched and started to breathe heavily. He fully expected Steve to just let him handle his dick himself, and was completely thrown off by the fact that Steve was helping him finish. He was rubbing it just the right way with a firm grip and squeezing the head on the upstroke. Sure enough, Billy came in his pants while he gripped Steve’s shoulders. He jerked with each pulse of his cock and Steve just stroked him through it. He somehow felt even dirtier than usual when he came, like he was taking an even bigger risk doing this in Hawkins. He liked it. When he was done, he just sat for a minute to catch his breath.

Stroking Hargrove’s cock while he came was an extremely erotic experience for Steve. To feel it pulsing in his hand as it released was just… beyond words. That definitely confirmed that he was into giving handjobs, but who knew what else he could do with Hargrove.

Hargrove leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss. “How was your first gay experience?”

“I’m uh… definitely thinking I’m queer.

Hargrove’s face became cold. “You can’t say queer.”

Steve paused. “Why?”

“It’s an insult. I get that you’re from a small town, but if you said that shit in a gay part of LA and you were still in the closet, it wouldn’t end well for you.”

Billy wasn’t going to blame Steve for not knowing terminology. They were in the middle of nowhere Indiana and it was clear that homophobia was common, so he didn’t know better. That meant he had a bit more work to do than just experimenting with him. He climbed off of Steve and pulled out a cigarette from his coat pocket.

Steve looked down at his pants and noticed he had a spot forming on the inside of his thigh. He was pretty sure his parents wouldn’t notice if he went straight upstairs to his room, but if his mom did the laundry she’d probably find out. However, he noticed that Hargrove’s pants didn’t have a spot _at all_. Steve raised an eyebrow as the blond got out his lighter.

“How are your pants still clean?”

Billy chuckled, lit his cigarette, and exhaled smoke. “Condom.”

“You put a condom on before you got here?”

“I like being prepared. For all I know, you’d want to suck my dick but not get cum in your mouth.”

Steve cringed. “Yeah, not doing that.”

Steve left out the _‘yet’_ he wanted to add to that. He didn’t want to sound too eager about continuing this… whatever it was, and he wanted _so badly_ to continue it. If this was the level of orgasm he’d get from grinding, who knew how the actual sex would be.

***

Billy managed to get home by 10:00. His old man’s car was in the driveway, which meant that Neil and Susan would be home. But hopefully Max sold his story reliably and he wouldn’t get any shit. Billy parked his car, put out his cigarette, and went inside.

When he opened the door, Neil and Susan were sitting at the dining table. Neil looked that special mix of disappointed and angry, Susan looked like she was going to take whatever Neil did. Max was nowhere to be seen, so she was probably in bed already. 

“You care to explain where you were?” Neil asked.

Billy shrugged as he took his coat off. “I had a date.”

“With who?”

“Since when was my dating life your business?”

Billy didn’t need any of this bullshit right now. He had just gotten off with arguably one of the hottest guys in Hawkins, it turned out they actually got along kind of well, and he wanted to go to sleep on a good note. He started to head to his room, but was stopped by a yelled,

“You left your sister home alone!”

“She’s not my sister, dad! And she’s not a baby!”

“You will watch her _when I say so!_ ”

“When _you_ say so? I’m not allowed to have free will? I’m not allowed to have a life? I guess if _you say so_ then it’s true.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, because one moment Billy was about to shut the door to his room for the night, the next there was a blunt force to the back of his head and a kick to his stomach when he doubled over onto the ground. He couldn’t clench his muscles in time so it was bound to fuck something up, and hurt like a bitch. All he could do for a minute was lay in a fetal position with his arms covering his face as he was kicked two more times.

It was times like these where he cursed his fucking mouth for running off like that. He’d dealt with Neil’s anger since he could walk, he should’ve known better by now. He couldn’t blame his mom for running off like she did since she dealt with this for 18 years.

“Now you will watch Max when I tell you to.” Neil growled. “You will _never_ talk back to me, and you _will_ stay in line. Do you understand me?”

If Billy wanted this to end, he had no choice but to groan out a _‘yes’_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that I added a cowriter onto my story. My friend The_Reverend has been helping me as a muse so I figured it's only fair that she's given credit.


	5. November 5th, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve notices the bruises from Neil's abuse, and decides to ask about them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Abuse victim mindset.
> 
> A very short chapter, but I still think it's okay.

Steve noticed that Hargrove was a bit off when he saw the boy in class. He was glassy eyed, careful with how he moved, almost as if he was hurt and trying to hide it. Then it was time for practice, and it was extremely obvious why he was acting strange. On his back and stomach were giant bruises that were purple and horrid-looking. Apparently they were also painful enough that Hargrove didn’t use his usual tactics when it came to basketball.

Billy knew that Steve noticed the bruises, he’d stopped for a full half second when he came out of the locker room without his shirt on for practice. And the coach had told him he needed to “stop getting into fights” if he wanted to be on the team. He hated that Neil’s abuse slowed him down, but what choice did he have if he wanted a roof over his head?

After Hargrove showered and dried off, Steve got into his locker and started putting clothes on. They happened to have lockers two spaces apart from each other, so Steve saw it as an opportunity to discuss the bruises. Hargrove had already put on his pants and shoes by this point.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked as he zipped up his pants.

Hargrove put on his shirt. “Yeah, nothing to worry about.”

“What happened?”

“Got into a fight yesterday.”

“With who?”

Billy shook his head and came up with a lie. “Doesn’t matter, they got away.”

Steve put his shirt on with a pensive look. Hargrove was hiding something, he didn’t know what, but it probably wasn’t good. Maybe there were guys that didn’t like him, Steve was sure he could get Hopper to help if he asked.

“Listen, I’m on good terms with Chief Hopper. If you need someone to track them down-.”

Billy slammed his locker shut in a fit of anger. “Its none of your fucking business, alright!?”

The last thing Billy wanted was for the police to get involved. He knew how fucked up the Foster Care system was, Max and him would be eaten alive if they were taken away. Susan wasn’t the problem, it was Neil who abused them. All of them were stuck, and Billy would take off as soon as he had the money and arrangements.

Steve just watched as Hargrove left the locker room. His question somehow seemed to strike a nerve with Hargrove, but it seemed best to leave it alone. Steve would give him a day or so to cool down, then try talking to him again.

What Steve didn’t expect was to find a note he had missed in his gym locker. It was from Hargrove and it read,

_Meet me in the middle school parking lot at 8 tomorrow._

_Hope you’re ready for round 2._

_-Billy_


	6. November 6th, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Billy meet up again, where Steve gets his very first blowjob.

Steve had never had a blowjob before. The few girls he’d slept with said they didn’t want to actually taste his dick or his come, and Steve was never one to push his partners into doing something they didn’t want to. Then he and Hargrove started having their late-night meetups and the image of Hargrove’s lips wrapped around his cock was too good to pass up. That image had him shifting around in his seat as he drove to the Middle School parking lot.

Billy was smoking a cigarette out of the window of his car by the time he saw headlights heading into the parking lot. The school was strictly from 6 am to 6 pm with few exceptions, so no one with authority would show up to bust them. He didn’t dress himself up like he did last time (the bruises were still healing) so he didn’t bother changing out of his clothes from school. He did do his hair and put on cologne, but that was about it. When Steve parked his car in the spot on his left, Billy smiled at him and threw his cigarette out of his window.

Steve got out of his car and went to Hargrove’s passenger window. What he said next took a shit ton of courage,

“So how do you feel about giving blowjobs?”

That honestly stopped Billy for a second. He hadn’t expected Steve to be so…  _ blunt _ about this. He thought he’d gotten a good read on the guy from last weekend’s interlude, but apparently he had some balls after all. Billy smirked and licked his lips.

“I’ve given a few.” Which was an understatement. “Why? You been thinking about my mouth?”

Steve blushed a bit. “Thinking about never having a blowjob before.”

Hargrove’s eyebrow raised. “Really?”

“Apparently girls here think sucking dick is gross.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not from around here.” Hargrove said as he reached over and unlocked the door. “Make sure to push the seat back all the way, Stevie.”

Steve got into the passenger side seat. He had a feeling the name ‘Stevie’ was going to be a regular thing, and he hadn’t been called that since he was, maybe, five. And he couldn’t help but get hard from the fact that Hargrove didn’t even put up a fight about sucking his dick, he seemed a bit excited by it, actually. It kind of made him rethink the whole insult of being called a “cocksucker”. So Steve did as instructed and pushed the seat back all the way, which allowed Hargrove to climb over and kneel on the floor.

Billy suppressed the smirk he desperately wanted to make from seeing the bulge in Steve’s pants. Yeah, this guy had  _ definitely _ never had a blowjob before, being this hard at the thought of getting a blowjob was a usual tell. That also, unfortunately, meant that this wouldn’t last very long, which was a shame as he loved to draw his blowjobs out. So he started out with mouthing Steve’s dick through his jeans.

Steve jerked and grunted from the sensation of Hargrove’s mouth on him. Even though it was through his jeans, it felt really damn good. Steve shut his eyes tight so he wouldn’t look down, because he knew that if he did, he’d lose it too quickly. He’d had girls do this part to him before and he’d enjoyed the buildup without fear of blowing his load prematurely, but suddenly Hargrove does it and he’s two seconds away from coming in his pants.

Billy was watching Steve’s reaction through his lashes, and it was adorable. If you didn’t know that he had a reputation of dating lots of girls, you’d think he was a full on virgin with no experience beyond his right hand, but he knew Steve’s type, which meant he wasn’t fully satisfied with women. Billy stopped mouthing at Steve’s covered cock, and with a perfected technique, undid the button of Steve’s jeans with his mouth, and pulled down the zipper with his teeth. He knew Steve was watching him, and kept eye contact with him as he pulled the boy’s pants and underwear partially down his thighs. Steve’s eyes were wide, pupils blown wide with lust, almost as if shocked by his own body’s reactions. Billy felt proud of himself to cause such a reaction.

Steve shivered as Hargrove reached into his underwear and grabbed his dick. It was different having a boy’s hand on his dick than a girl’s. It was bigger, a firmer grip, like he was sure he knew what he was doing (and considering he also had a dick, that was very likely). The blond pulled Steve’s dick out of his underwear and gave it a few strokes. He was looking at it like it was a delicious meal, ready to be devoured. As soon as Hargrove leaned forward and licked the tip, Steve jolted and gasped.

The lack of experience Steve had definitely made him more sensitive. Billy couldn’t lie, it was honestly a huge turn on that Steve was extra sensitive. He’d been told multiple times that he had a ‘magic tongue’, so he’d have to go easy on Steve since it was his first blowjob. He started off with just licking the tip of his cock with the tip of his tongue. There wasn’t any precome yet, that was at least a good sign. He tried tracing the crown of Steve’s cock with his tongue and got another jerk and moan from it. He kept switching back and forth between the two techniques for a few moments, then decided Steve was ready for his mouth.

It was embarrassing how Steve was already halfway to orgasming from just being licked. And then Hargrove actually wrapped his lips around the head of his cock and he had to grab onto the armrest in order to not thrust into Hargrove’s mouth.

“Fuck.” He groaned.

The sensations were somehow even more intense than actually having sex with a girl. As Hargrove slid lower and lower, Steve thought his head might actually explode from the pleasure. Fuck, that would be a way to die, death by blowjob. He squeezed his eyes shut so that he wouldn’t come from the image of Hargrove sucking him off as he started to move up and down. His tongue was moving side to side as it went over his shaft, he was actually applying suction when he moved upward, his hand stoked what he couldn’t fit in his mouth, and he was actually moaning.

Jesus fucking Christ.

At this point, Billy had gotten his own dick out and jerked himself off with his free hand while he sucked Steve’s dick. Usually he’d be a bit quieter when doing sexual activities, but since he knew vibrations added to a blowjob, he didn’t try to mute himself. He definitely wasn’t going to swallow, and he knew Steve wouldn’t last much longer. Billy intensified the suction a bit and Steve jerked his hips up.

“S-sorry.” Steve gasped.

And that was all he could say before his orgasm hit him hard. Steve bit the back of his hand so he wouldn’t shout from the intensity of his release. It felt like Hargrove was sucking out his soul through his cock, not even  _ sex _ felt like this before and he’d had some pretty aweosme sex. Surprisingly, Hargrove didn’t swallow any of it, he just reached into his pocket and spit into a tissue. That was when he noticed Hargrove’s pants were open, and could see the shiny plastic of a condom.

“Do you… want help with that?” Steve breathed.

Hargrove looked up, clearly surprised. “You sure?”

Steve smiled. “I give  _ and  _ receive, I’d say my mutual satisfaction rate is pretty high.”

“So I’ve heard, but you said you’ve never given a blowjob before.”

“I think I can handle giving a handjob with a condom on.”

Well, Billy couldn’t argue with that. In his experience if a guy could jerk himself off well, he’d be decent at giving a handjob, and he was already halfway to an orgasm. Billy got up and maneuvered himself so that his knees were on either side of Steve’s hips, and gave Steve a slow, sensual kiss. He could feel his cock brush up against Steve’s shirt and suddenly, Steve’s hand was on his shaft. He didn’t seem nervous at all as he started pumping his fist up and down on him.

Hargrove gasped out of the kiss, and rested his forehead on the seat behind Steve. Jerking off someone else’s dick wasn’t exactly alien. Not that Steve had done it before, the concept was just a little different than masturbating. The condom definitely made his hand feel weird, latex but also somewhat wet. He used the technique Hargrove seemed to like last time: squeezing the head on the upstroke, and when he did it, Hargrove jerked and sharply inhaled.

Billy didn’t want to draw this out longer than he had to, but fuck, he didn’t want it to end so soon, which was getting difficult. That little squeeze at the top of his dick was  _ just right _ , then he felt one of Harrington’s hands reach around and squeeze his ass. Billy didn’t even realize that he was thrusting into Harrington’s hand until he was close to coming.

“Fuck, I’m close.” He whispered.

No sooner did he say that, Steve felt Hargrove’s cock pulse in his hand. Steve’s cock even twitched from it, but didn’t get hard despite how fucking hot it was. After a while he felt Hargrove’s cock soften, and he moved off of Steve’s lap onto the driver’s seat. Steve just watched as Hargrove got out a cigarette and lit it, shocked by how composed he was after all of this.

“Definitely mutual satisfaction.” Billy said with a smirk. “Especially since that was your first time giving a handjob.”

Steve shrugged. “I aim to please. It’s not that different to jerking myself off.”

Billy chuckled and took a drag of his cigarette. “Awesome.”

Steve idly fidgeted with his jacket for a moment as silence swept over them, before he asked something that has been preying on his mind, “So are notes just gonna be the way we set this up?”

Billy shrugged. “Don’t want to risk anyone overhearing a conversation nearby or on another line. You said yourself that your dad would kill you, my dad would go ballistic, so if we pass notes at school neither of them would notice it. I’ll let you pick the next one.”

Billy could only imagine how Neil would react to him sleeping with boys. He’d done a pretty good job at hiding it since he was 15 living in LA, but in a small town, things were harder to hide because everyone knew each other. One person noticing something meant they told their friend, then that friend told their friends, and it would go on and on until it got to Neil.

Steve really thought about that, and something in the back of his head thought maybe Hargove’s dad was related to the bruises he saw. But it was pretty obvious before that Hargrove didn’t want to talk about them, so he decided not to ask. He did, however, crack a small smile at a specific fact: his parents were out of town this weekend, which meant the house would be his. It also meant that there could be a lot more  _ activities _ they could try.

“Y’know, my parents are leaving on a business trip this weekend. If you wanted, you could come over and, maybe watch some movies?”

Hargrove exhaled some smoke. “As a precursor to fucking?”

“Something like that.”

“Send me a note when you know it’ll be safe for me to come over. Don’t want anyone asking questions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will now be updated every 2 weeks on Wednesday. I wanted to give myself one week of breathing room, then a week of writing.


	7. November 8th, 1984

After school that Thursday, Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy went to the Byers’ house to do homework together. They had their own study group every Tuesday and Thursday, and every once in a while, they’d even have a bit of weed to go along with it. That wasn’t the case today, Nancy always wanted a clear head whenever she was studying for a test, so Steve and Jonathan followed suit.

They were all sat in the living room doing their respective homework, and Steve was caught off guard by Jonathan’s question,

“So are you and that Hargrove guy dating?”

Steve’s head snapped up and he looked at Jonathan in disbelief. “How do you know about Hargrove?”

“Nancy told me.”

Steve groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Nancy!” He whined.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal.” Nancy defended. “Jonathan wouldn’t say anything to anyone, right?”

Jonathan nodded. “Not exactly my place to say anything.”

_ It wasn’t Nancy’s either _ Steve thought to himself. He had a feeling that Nancy told Jonathan because they were interested in each other (which was obvious to everyone), and he was lucky that Jonathan was such a good guy. Still, that didn’t stave off the embarrassment Steve was feeling, but maybe it would be a good thing to talk about this with people he trusted. So Steve straightened up and looked between his two friends.

“We’re not exactly, um…” He cleared his throat. “ _ Dating _ , more of… fooling around, I guess?”

“Oh.” Nancy looked surprised when she said it. “I thought… you’d be dating?”

Steve shrugged. “I still don’t know how to feel about me  _ liking _ the things we’re doing, and Hargrove said he didn’t want anything like that.”

“Do you want to date him?”

“I barely know anything about him, I dunno if it’d work out.”

“Wait,” Jonathan cut in. “You’re meeting up with this guy, and you don’t know anything about him?”

He… hadn’t exactly thought of it like that. Steve had just kind of jumped head first into this  _ thing _ with Hargrove, he didn’t think to ask about his favorite bands or what brought him to Hawkins from California. All he could think about was that kiss on Halloween, and how mind-blowing and amazing and hot it was.

“I… I guess I am.” He said it in a tone as if it was a casual realization.

Maybe he could try to get to know Hargrove more this weekend. With his parents being out of town and Hargrove coming over, he had more of an opportunity to actually hang out with the guy. It didn’t have to  _ just _ be full of foreplay and sex, they could watch movies, listen to music, order pizza.

Yeah, he could do that.


	8. November 9th, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve tries to get to know Billy with a movie and pizza.
> 
> They get distracted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Smut
> 
> Facts to know:  
> -Domino's Pizza started their "30 minute delivery or it's free" pledge in 1984  
> -VHS tapes had just been introduced in 1981, so VCRs at the time cost around $2,000  
> -Heineken was THE beer everyone talked about in the 80s  
> -Surfing competitions started in the 80's, but surfing and 'surf bums' were more popular in the 60's and 70's  
> -No I will not explain what a VHS tape is, please google it

Earlier in the day during class, Billy got a note passed to him during Chemistry. Steve wasn’t in his class, but he knew right away it was from him. It read,

_Parents will be at the airport by 8 pm, address is below. They’ll be gone until Tuesday. See you at 8:30._

_-Steve_

So, Billy subtly checked that Neil and Susan would be home that night so he wouldn’t have to watch Max, got some beers from the store (a little bit nicer than usual), and headed to Steve’s place at 7:30 since he’d need to find the place. He was curious as to what kind of place would house ‘King Steve’. He knew there was a more upscale area in Hawkins, and after asking around, people who had been there said it was a larger, expensive building, complete with a pool. Everyone had a story from going to one of his parties, all of them awesome and complete with ‘Harrington used to throw the best parties’. Well, Billy wasn’t exactly going to a party, but he knew he’d have fun nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Steve had been sure to stock up on lube and condoms at the drugstore and rented Footloose to go with pizza. It wasn’t exactly a date, but since they didn’t have to worry about his parents coming home, they were allowed to take their time. Besides, pizza and a movie wasn’t too bad of a precursor to fooling around. He made sure to shower, do his hair, and change his sheets so that they’d have somewhere comfortable to mess around.

Around 8:30, Billy had successfully navigated to Steve’s place. It was definitely bigger and nicer than any of the places Billy had lived in, and so was the neighborhood surrounding it. Whatever Steve’s parents did for a living definitely made them a shit ton of money. Billy parked the car in the driveway and got out with a six pack of beer in hand. He made sure to wear his red button up with his bomber jacket and his best pair of jeans to top it off. Definitely fuckable.

Steve’s heart practically jumped when he heard the doorbell ring. This… he shouldn’t have been nervous. They’d already met up like this twice, now there was the addition of a movie and pizza. Maybe it was the prospect of actually trying to get to know Hargrove that was unnerving, however now wasn’t the time to analyze it. Steve flattened his shirt a bit before he left the kitchen. He wore a nice white t-shirt and fitted blue jeans so that he was appealing, but didn’t look easy. It was a delicate balance he’d perfected over the years.

With a deep breath, Steve opened the door and almost lost his breath from how good Hargrove looked.

“Hey.” He greeted.

“Hey yourself.” Hargrove returned with a smoulder, and held up the beers. “You sure you wanna be sober this time? It’s Heineken.”

“Oof, you drive a hard bargain, but... maybe we could add pizza and a movie to the mix? My parents got a VCR.”

Hargrove looked absolutely stunned. “Wait, you have a _VCR_?”

“My parents bought it two weeks ago, and I rented Footloose.”

“Okay, sex can wait, I gotta see this.” Billy said as he pushed past Steve into the house.

Billy had only ever seen pictures of VCRs in magazines or advertisements, they were _way_ out of Neil’s price range. Even renting them was extremely expensive, so the fact that Steve’s parents _bought_ it just confirmed that the Harringtons were rich. In the entryway, it felt a bit more middle class than rich. Art on the walls, different types of wallpaper, not flashy but not boring.

 _‘Sex can wait’_ , what kind of sex did Hargrove mean? Technically everything they did was foreplay, right? Steve had no idea how sex between two guys worked, but hopefully Hargrove could lead him through it. He’d been good at that so far. Steve gestured to the room on the right of the foyer and Hargrove immediately darted for the TV. Right there on the TV stand underneath the 2 year old TV, was the brand new VCR player. Steve watched as Hargrove kneeled in front of it and stared in awe.

“Holy shit.” Billy whispered. “These are like 2,000 bucks and you just… have one in your living room.”

“My dad is kind of a nerd, he had that on pre order as soon as it was available.”

“Then why the hell are you living in Hawkins if you can afford this? You could be living in a mansion in Beverly Hills, or at least a condo.”

Steve shrugged. “Dad grew up here, went to the city for college, he met mom in the same program, and decided to raise a family back home.”

Billy stood up and placed the beers on the coffee table. “Well, show me what your nerd of a dad spent so much money on.”

Steve manually turned on the TV at the console, then picked up the TV and VCR remotes. “I’m still figuring this out, so I’m sorry if I screw up.”

Steve’s dad had written down what to do on a note inside the manual, and after a few minutes of switching inputs and such, he finally was able to put the VHS tape into the VCR. His dad also made a note to rewind the tapes when you put them in using stop and rewind, which gave Steve a few minutes to go into the kitchen to get plates and the pizza.

While Steve went to the kitchen, Billy took off his coat and opened a beer. He figured that Steve’s dad was a homebody. Anyone who wanted to stay in _Fucking_ _Nowhere_ Indiana was either boring or didn’t want to leave. But in a small space in the back of Billy’s mind… he wished he’d gotten here sooner. Apparently last year was the height of King Steve’s reign, which meant no one would question if Steve and Billy hung out.

“I didn’t know which pizza you liked,” Steve came back into the living room with three pizza boxes and two plates. “So I got one cheese, one pepperoni, and one meat lover’s.”

Billy smirked. “You trying to make me fat, Harrington?”

Steve sat the pizza and plates on the coffee table, and sat to Billy’s left. “And have you lose your six pack? Hell no, it makes basketball practice bearable.”

Billy let out a laugh that was like a caw. “That explains why you suck at basketball, I keep distracting you.”

Steve blushed. “Maybe.”

The two plated some pizza and talked a bit about their favorite movies. It turned out Hargrove was an Arnold Schwarzenagger fan (“He’s what every man _wants_ to look like, Harrington”) and he was actually a pretty good student. Steve would have never guessed because of the whole bad boy routine. They both even liked the same basketball players. Apparently they talked for longer than they thought because in no time at all it was 9 pm, and the movie had been fully rewound for a while.

Strangely enough… Billy enjoyed just talking with Steve. In the past when he had a friend with benefits, it was simply show up, have sex, set up anothr time to have more fun. He never really bothered to get to know his partners beyond what they liked in bed, but with Steve it just… seemed easy.

“What did you do for fun where you used to live?” Steve asked. “I heard that California has great beaches, and there’s all the places in Hollywood you see in the movies.”

“Those are tourist spots, not for the locals. The waves are _amazing_ to surf, and I won a few competitions before I was… forced into Hawkins.”

Steve decided to ignore the comment about being force. “They have surfing competitions?”

“It’s a sport, just not as popular as football or basketball. It used to be popular, at least when I was a kid. I used to spend hours on the beach just surfing and getting sun.”

Steve took a sip of his beer. “My family likes going to Lake Erie for summer vacations. Not exactly the sandy beaches of Los Angeles, but there’s this town called Marblehead with a lighthouse, nature reserves, and even stones on the beach with fossils…” He frowned. “but I think last year might’ve been the last year.”

Billy noticed Steve’s sudden change in demeanor. “Why’s that?”

Steve was hesitant to answer. He didn’t know why he was telling Hargrove this, they weren’t exactly close, and yet it was like they’d always been friends. Steve leaned back into the couch.

“I… heard my parents talking about this summer. My dad wants me to get a summer job before I head off to college, something about ‘learning to work your way up’ or some shit. Dad takes a lot of pride in starting from nothing so I guess he wants me to do the same.”

“You’d be making your own cash, I don’t really see a downside to that… unless you want to be a preppy rich kid all your life.”

“I’d rather not think about it.” Maybe now was the time to get to what they really wanted. “But I can think of a few other things.”

Billy smirked at the suggestive tone of voice. “Oh really?” He put down his beer and turned his body to face Steve. “What kind of things?”

Steve shifted so that he was closer to Billy. “You’re the expert, you tell me.”

Billy let his tongue run over his lips and moved closer. “I’d say… you really liked when I sucked you off the other night. I think you’d really like to fuck my mouth and come down my throat… or maybe you’d want to fuck me a different way.”

Steve’s mouth suddenly felt dry and his pants felt a bit tight. “What other ways are there?”

Hargrove moved even closer and slowly moved his hand up Steve’s thigh. 

“There’s a few ways.” Hargrove’s hand went past Steve’s crotch and to the hem of his shirt. “I could put lube between my thighs, make a nice slick channel for you to fuck, just pin me down and fuck my thighs until you come all over my balls or ass. You could fuck me as hard as you want that way.” He ran his lips up Steve’s neck and sucked on his earlobe, and Steve couldn’t help but gasp. “You could grind your dick against mine, no clothing in between them. You’d be on top of me and thrusting onto my dick until we both come on each other. You could watch both of us come and our jizz mix with each other, feel my dick throb against yours while it happens.” He licked the shell of Steve’s ear and slid his hand under Steve’s shirt. “Or you could fuck my ass. It’ll feel different from a pussy, tighter and dirtier. I could be on my hands and knees while you fuck me through this couch from behind. You’d get a fantastic view of my asshole stretched around your cock while you screw me. All you have to do is pick. How do you wanna fuck me, Stevie?”

That last suggestion… fuck, it seemed the most erotic of the three. Steve had always heard the insults ‘cocksucker’ or ‘go get fucked in the ass’ but to actually do that… Hargrove made it sound amazing and hot. He didn’t think at this point, he just let his feelings think for him. Steve pulled Hargrove onto his lap so that he was straddling him and assaulted his mouth with teeth and tongue and lips. He eagerly grabbed Hargrove’s amazing ass and squeezed his cheeks, and heard Hargrove gasp in response.

“In your ass.” Steve whispered. “Over the arm of the couch.”

Billy smirked. “Now we’re talking.”

He dove in for another kiss. Billy honestly expected Steve to not go for fucking his ass. Maybe frottage or intercurial, but not anal. Lots of newbies to gay sex had a stigma about anal in case liking it made them ‘more gay’, yet here was Steve practically begging him to do it (verbally and non-verbally). So, Billy got to work.

Steve was practically a puppet as he let Hargrove lead him through the process. He had Steve bring down the condoms and lube he had stashed upstairs, get naked from the waist down, and watch as Hargrove prepped himself. Steve couldn’t have taken his eyes off of Hargrove (or his asshole) if he wanted to, even if his hand was just holding his own condom and lube covered dick. Right in front of him Hargrove was ‘opening himself up’ with fingers up his ass and lube dripping from his asshole. Apparently “assholes don’t work like vaginas, they need to be stretched”, but if that meant Steve could watch Hargrove finger himself and hear him make _amazing_ noises, that was fine by him.

Billy would never admit it out loud, but he liked it when people watched him like Steve was watching him. Other people would find being bent over the arm of a couch fingering themselves humiliating, but Billy loved that he was being looked at like he was something to be devoured. It made him feel good… in more ways than one. He made sure to avoid his prostate while he stretched himself out and didn’t restrain the noises he made, which he knew turned Steve on more.

“Please tell me you’re done.” Steve begged breathlessly.

Billy looked back over his shoulder. “I was done two minutes ago. I just wanted you to keep looking at me.”

“Asshole.”

“You liked it.”

“... yeah I did.”

“So…” Billy removed his fingers and spread his legs wider. “Why don’t you get inside this asshole?”

Steve would have mentioned how that was a bad pun, if Hargrove didn’t look so… _so damn fuckable_. There should’ve been something that made that weird, but at that moment all he could think of was getting his dick in Hargrove. With shaky hands, Steve held Hargrove’s bare asscheeks and spread them slightly. He had a strange urge to just stick his tongue into the blond’s hole, but Steve’s painfully hard dick overrode that decision. He lined himself up with Hargrove’s entrance, and pushed the tip in. Just the tip made him gasp and jerk.

“Holy fuck.” He whispered.

Billy groaned when Steve pushed in further and gripped onto the arm of the couch. It had been a while since he’d been penetrated. Since Max and Susan came into the picture and Neil didn’t give a shit about how Billy felt about it, he’d been sure to top the guys he slept with in LA (even though he considered himself a top/power bottom). And when Neil decided they were moving across the country, he had to get rid of the dildo he’d been given by a previous partner. He couldn’t risk the old man finding something like _that_ in his things. Now that he had a dick inside him again, he’d forgotten how fucking good it felt. He felt that sweet stretch and fullness that he’d missed for a few months again and it felt glorious.

Steve’s mind went completely offline when his hips touched Hargrove’s ass. Somehow this felt incredible compared to any girl he’d slept with in the past, and he’d had some pretty fantastic lays. For his own good, he stayed still in order to not come on the spot despite every sensation he was feeling. Hargrove was tight, hot, and somehow the fact that he was male made it even better.

Hargrove reached back and held onto Steve’s hip. “Need you to move.” He groaned.

“I don’t… I don’t wanna come yet.”

Hargrove chuckled. “Guess that proves I have a fantastic ass... inside and out.”

Steve shuddered, and slowly slid back. He had no idea if this was psychological or physical, but it felt amazing. When he was halfway out, he slid back in and Hargrove’s grip on his hip tightened. He kept the pace slow but consistent.

Every time Steve pushed back in, Billy moaned quietly. He forgot how much he liked the sensation of being filled like this. Steve was hot inside of him, hard, stretching him in just the right ways that made his toes curl. And yet there was that one spot that would make it even better if Steve aimed just a little lower.

“Lower.” Billy whispered. “Aim lower.” And just like that, Steve’s cock hit his prostate head on and he saw stars. “Right there!” Billy gasped out. “Right _fucking_ there. Faster.”

“Can’t… go faster. Too close.”

“Fuck me like you mean it, Steve!” Hargrove demanded.

It was like a switch flipped in Steve’s brain and he decided _‘if I don’t last long, I’ll try to make him come too’_. So he moved Hargrove’s hand onto the arm of the couch, held onto the blond’s shoulders, and rammed in hard while pulling Hargrove against him. Their skin slapped together from the force of the thrust.

“Fuck!” Billy cried out.

Steve just started ramming into him and hit his prostate head on each time. Billy didn’t even think he’d need his cock touched at this rate because, jesus christ, Steve could move his hips. It was really fucking hot that he was just using everything in him to fuck his ass. With every ram of Steve’s hips, Billy let out a loud moan and sometimes the word “fuck”.

“Don’t stop.” Hargrove moaned. “Don’t you fucking stop!”

Steve couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. His climax was approaching and he knew it was a big one. He thrust as fast as he could and he could feel his balls start to draw up. Hargrove’s ass started to flutter around him, the tight heat kept enveloping his dick over and over, and Hargrove kept making those hot noises. With one final thrust, Steve slammed back home and came _hard_ with a gasp.

Billy could feel Steve pulse inside him as he came, and that \sensation made him come too. He groaned as he came in spurts onto the couch underneath and his body flinched with every one. He felt like he was on fucking cloud nine as he slumped forward onto the arm of the couch. It had definitely been a while since he’d been fucked like this, he usually lasted longer when he was fucked. But it could have also been that Steve lived up to his reputation like a fucking dream.

“Jesus Christ.” Billy whispered.

Steve rested his head on Hargrove’s shoulder. “Shit.”

“You… you’re fucking amazing.”

Steve chuckled breathlessly. “So is your ass.”

“You don’t think _I’m_ amazing?”

“Jury’s still out on that one.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculous they were being. He hadn’t even pulled out yet and they were joking around. He’d worry about figuring out why this was incredible compared to his other experiences later, he just wanted to enjoy the afterglow for a bit. Though he didn’t fail to notice that Hargrove called him by his first name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There won't be an update at the usual time. The next chapter has me a bit befuddled so I'll update it when I can.


	9. November 11th, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Billy spend some time together without sex. It isn't that bad.

When Hargrove had left on Friday, they both agreed to meet up at the movies on Sunday. There was a new horror film out that everyone was talking about and they thought it was worth checking out. Steve showed up at the back of the theatre at 10:30 and waited for Hargrove to show up. They were still 17, so they had to sneak in the back to get into the film.

Billy showed up ten minutes later in his camaro. Unlike the other times they had met up, he didn’t do his hair or take extra care with his appearance (apart from what he did every day). Though he did wear his bomber jacket because the weather was getting colder. He got out of his car and stomped out his cigarette with a smile.

“You ready to see people die in their dreams?” He asked.

“How do you know they die in their dreams?”

“I asked around school about it. Had to stop a kid from ruining the plot entirely because he liked it so much.”

“Let’s hope it’s as good as he says.”

With some help from one of the theatre employees (a guy in Steve’s algebra class), they successfully snuck into the back of the theatre and got a seat near the back. There were quite a few people already there, including a few adult couples, so fooling around was out… but honestly, Billy didn’t mind. He’d be alright with just watching a movie with Steve.

The opening credits started and Steve was pretty interested in it. Hargrove would whisper a comment here and there about it, and Steve would reciprocate. Thankfully there was no one in their row to object to their little commentary. Eventually there was a scene where a guy was on the phone with his mom, but played a tape of sound effects to lie about where he was. The actor was actually very attractive.

“That’s really clever.” Billy whispered.

“But who is that guy?” Steve whispered back. “He’s… really cute.”

Billy chuckled. He was kind of happy that Steve was able to admit a male actor was appealing, it meant he was getting more comfortable with his sexuality. Soon the next scene showed the character in his bed, having fallen asleep with his TV and headphones on… and wearing a crop-top.

“Shit, a crop top?” Billy whispered.

“That’s pretty out there.”

“I wonder what the costume designer was thinking.”

They didn’t get to ponder that for long as the scene shifted to the actor getting pulled into his bed while screaming, then a fountain of blood exploded all over the room. Steve couldn’t help but curl in on himself with a grimace at that, and Hargrove seemed to react similarly.

The rest of the movie was filled with scenes like that, and by the time the credits started to roll, Billy realized that they had shifted close enough that their shoulders were touching. He looked over to Steve, who seemed to just realize it himself, and they looked at each other for a moment. They didn’t say a word, didn’t move away, it was like they were just in their own little world until the lights came on.

Billy didn’t hate it.


	10. December 20th, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy's anger finally boils over against Neil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Homophobic and Racist slurs, violence.

Steve and Billy hung out more like they did at the theatre. Not every hangout ended in sex. Sometimes they’d rent a movie and watch it at Steve’s house, sometimes Billy would show him new tricks on the court. They were honestly friends when sex wasn’t involved, and Billy liked it. But when sex was involved, it was fucking good. Steve may have not been experienced in gay sex, yet Billy knew he wouldn’t have been able to tell if Steve hadn’t told him. He was a fast learner.

Billy wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was starting to like Steve. Not just in a sexual way… it was actual romantic feelings. He wasn’t used to that. Usually he’d keep his lays at arm’s length so that his heart wouldn’t be shattered over and over. Yet there was something about Steve that made him want to lower his defenses.

Soon the holidays were coming up and Billy knew he’d have to be at home a bit more because Christmas Break started, but he’d survive. Neil hadn’t been reprimanding him as much, and Susan had started decorating. Things would probably be okay.

Or so he thought.

After the break had just started, Billy came home from the movies and saw a bike parked next to the front door. No one in the house owned a bike, and he saw Neil and Susan at the nearby grocery loading the trunk on his way back.

“Fuck.” Billy breathed as he got out of the car.

He rushed to the door and unlocked it. As soon as he got inside, he saw Max and that fucking Sinclair kid watching TV on the couch. Both of their eyes widened when they saw Billy.

“What the fuck are you doing, Max!?” Billy snapped. “Why is he here?”

“He’s allowed to be here!” Max snapped back. “Stop trying to control-!”

“What have I told you about hanging out-!?”

Billy was stopped by the sound of Neil’s car pulling in and parking in the driveway. His heart started to race as he acted quickly. He grabbed both of the kids by their shoulders and pushed them into his bedroom.

“What are you doing?” Sinclair asked, and Billy shushed him.

“Whose bike is that?” Neil’s voice angrily asked. “Is she seeing that boy again!?”

“Shit.” Billy said as he shut his bedroom door then rushed over and opened the window. “Get out, run as fast as you can to the diner then somewhere he wouldn’t expect.”

“What about you?” Max asked.

“Someone has to distract him long enough for you to get away. Now go!”

Max looked unsure, but the Sinclair kid was able to get them both out of the window and they ran. Billy knew he was in for a beating, Neil would be extremely pissed off because of Max hanging out with a black kid. But he had been protecting Max since California when this whole shit-show started, he was damned if he wasn’t going to keep doing it today.

“Maxine.” Neil called out.

Billy took a deep breath and opened his bedroom door. As expected, Neil looked angry and even shoved Billy aside to look into his room. Billy didn’t let himself react, just let Neil look around, all the while Susan seemed to just ignore it and went to the kitchen to put groceries away. Neil stopped when he saw the open window, and Billy’s heart sunk.

Fuck.

“You helped her get out?” Neil asked calmly as he turned around.

Billy didn’t answer, just stood there and let the silence speak for itself. Neil shook his head as if he was disappointed.

“You know what I’ve told you about socializing with  _ them _ .” He started to walk toward Billy menacingly. “And she knows it too, yet you and her disobeyed me.”

“He’s just a kid-.”

“A  _ negroe _ kid. And you’re enabling her behavior. She’s sneaking around… just like you’ve been with that boy.”

Billy’s eyes widened. “What?”

“So, are you whoring yourself out to him?”

“Wait,  _ what _ !? Who?”

“That Harrington kid. I _ know _ you’ve been with him those times you said you had dates. He’s got money, so you, what? Bend over for him whenever he asks?”

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ bring Steve into this.” Billy warned. Neil could take shots at Billy all he wanted, but Steve, he didn’t deserve an inch of Neil’s bullshit.

“Oh, so he’s got a name? You his boyfriend or something?”

Billy felt his blood boil in anger. First he was threatening Max, now he somehow knew about Steve. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he needed to protect Steve from all of this.

“No, and you will leave him alone or I swear to god I will murder you.”

In an instant Neil grabbed Billy and slammed him against a wall. He shoved his forearm onto Billy’s throat and cut off his air supply. Neil had never been this violent in the past, but apparently being a fag was worse than being friends with blacks.

“Don’t threaten me.” Neil growled. “It’s bad enough that you don’t listen, but you’re fucking men too. You’re a disgrace, you always have been, that’s why  _ she _ left.”

That’s when Billy snapped. Neil  _ knew _ that Billy was still heartbroken over his mom leaving, and he fucking went there to tear him down. But it didn’t have the intended effect, instead Billy kneed him in the nuts and head butted him. While Neil backed up and held his head, Billy took some needed gasps of air. He had had it with Neil’s need for control, enough of the abuse he’d dished out since Billy was five, and he wasn’t going to let Steve be another pawn for Neil to use against him.

“She left…” He breathed, then glared at Neil. “BECAUSE OF YOU!”

Billy rushed at Neil and slammed him into his dresser. He didn’t hold back, just started punching Neil as hard as he could on whatever place he could reach. The stomach, his face, his chest, but Neil managed to grab something made of glass and smash it onto Billy’s head. The smell of cologne and the pain of glass being embedded into his scalp stunned him for long enough for Neil to punch Billy in the face and knee him in the stomach.

“Stop it!” Susan yelled in the background.

Neil put him in a headlock and pushed Billy to his knees. Billy didn’t think, he just fought. He headbutted Neil with the back of his head and swiped an elbow into his jaw, which made a resounding crack. He knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer if the fight continued, he needed to get out. Billy rushed to his open bedroom window and jumped out. He didn't make the land entirely, he might’ve twisted his ankle, but the adrenaline made the pain numb. He started limping as fast as he could away from house even as Neil yelled after him.

***

It was dark by the time Billy realized where he was. He’d been wandering around town through back alleys and forested areas, anywhere he could move unnoticed. The cops were probably searching for him, and Neil probably gave a bullshit story about Billy attacking him out of the blue. He didn’t care.

All of his life, his father walked all over him. He expected Billy to be a ‘real man’, take care of the family, not step a toe out of line. He couldn’t take it anymore, and Max and Susan didn’t deserve to be brought into that shit. The man was a monster that didn’t deserve one more minute of Billy’s time. He threatened Steve, threatened Max, and they didn’t do  _ anything _ to deserve it.

The times he’d walked in on his mom sobbing with a black eye were heartbreaking. He’d tried to stand up for her, and every time Neil would beat him until he shut up. He’d gone to school with casts and sunglasses, and no one did a goddamn thing. Susan was lucky that she didn’t do anything to piss Neil off, but Billy got the brunt of his abuse day in and day out. He wouldn’t let that happen anymore,  _ never _ again.

Billy stumbled out of the woods and realized he was in Steve’s backyard. The pool lights were off, but the interior lights were on. He wouldn’t survive if he kept wandering all night, the forecast said there was going to be snow in an hour or so. He just prayed that Steve was home. The adrenaline had worn off about two hours ago, so the pain from his injuries weren’t muted and he was getting light headed. He limped to the sliding glass back door and knocked hard on it.

Steve was in the kitchen when he heard a knock on the back door, and it scared the shit out of him. Dustin, Mike, Will, and Jane were currently over playing board games and watching movies. Steve went to the backdoor and was shocked to see Hargrove standing there. Not only that, but he looked beaten to shit with blood in his hair, black eye, split lip, and bruises on his neck, and he looked ten seconds from passing out. Steve rushed to open the door and the only thing Hargrove said was,

“Didn’t know… where else to... go…”

Then he fell forward and Steve barely caught him.

“Steve?” Dustin called from the living room. “Will the pizza be here soon?”

Steve glanced back in the direction of the living room, then back at Hargrove in his arms. He didn’t want to freak the kids out, but he couldn’t just leave Hargrove in the kitchen either. He was terrified and needed help.

“I need help in here!” He called, urgency clear in his voice.

He heard two sets of footsteps run up the hall and a whispered “holy shit” behind him.

“Isn’t that Max’s brother?” Dustin asked.

“Yeah, grab his legs.”

Mike came into view and picked up Hargrove’s legs. He grunted and looked as if he was struggling to hold him up.

“Are unconscious bodies usually this heavy?”

“Be glad he isn’t an adult.” They started moving down the hall. “Clear the couch, get some pillows together.”

The entire time they headed the short distance down the hall, Steve was scared. He had no idea what happened to Hargrove before he got there, or how badly he’d been beaten. Were those crazy cult members back? Did he get into a fight? He did know that Hargrove needed a hospital and fast.

In the living room, there were two pillows stacked on one side of the couch and the fold out tables were moved away. Steve directed Mike to lay Hargrove on his side, then shifted him onto his back.

“Who is he?” Jane asked.

Steve tried to come up with a quick answer. “A - uh - friend of mine.”

“Why is he hurt?”

“Dunno, but I need one of you to call Hopper. Tell him we need help-.”

_ “Dustin, come in.” _ A voice said on a radio.  _ “It’s Lucas, do you copy?” _

Everyone looked to one of the fold out tables as Dustin picked up his radio.

“Lucas, it’s Dustin. Where are you?”

_ “Will’s hideout. I’m with Max, her brother told us to hide from their dad. Are any of your home bases safe?” _

“Wait… you mean the tall blond guy with the car?”

_ “That’s him.”  _ Max’s voice said.  _ “Have you seen him?” _

Dustin looked at Hargrove, then to Steve, who gave a nod of consent.

“He’s here… but he’s not doing too good.”

_ “What do you mean? Is he okay?” _

“Well… he just showed up and passed out in Steve’s kitchen. He’s… beaten pretty badly.”

There was silence for a while. Steve had a feeling Max was processing what she just heard, and he couldn’t blame her. He looked back at Hargrove, and his heart kind of broke as the pieces started coming together in his head. The bruises, the sneaking around, now hiding from their dad when Hargrove got the shit beaten out of him. The signs were right there in front of him and he was too stupid to notice. Steve ran gentle fingers through the blond curls, and felt dried blood. Hargrove definitely needed a hospital if he had a head injury.

He turned to Will and mouthed  _ ‘call Hopper’ _ right before the silence ended.

_ “Where’s your house?” _ Max asked with a wobble to her voice.  _ “Does he need a hospital?” _

“We’re calling the chief, he’s a friend-.”

_ “Don’t get the cops involved!”  _ Max yelled.  _ “They’ll take us away and my mom didn’t do anything wrong! It’s his dad that’s the problem!” _

Steve gestured for Dustin to hand over the radio, and he did. “Max, my name’s Steve, I’m your brother’s friend. I promise that Hopper won’t let you guys get taken away, but he will put the cuffs on Hargrove’s dad. I’ll have Dustin radio you when Hopper shows up and you and Lucas will head to the police station. Okay?”

_ “How can you promise that?” _

“Because I don’t want you guys taken away either. None of us do.”

That was partially a lie, he didn’t want Hargrove to leave, but he also didn’t want him and Max put into the Foster Care System. He’d heard stories of horrible things that happened when you were put into the system, and he didn’t want that for anyone. But right now, Hargrove needed a doctor.


	11. December 21st, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy wakes up in the hospital and has to make a tough decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Abuse mindset

Billy woke up feeling numb and weak. He could barely move, he could hear a rhythmic beeping noise, and everything smelled sterile. Faintly, he heard some voices nearby, and he realized he was laying down in a bed. Everything from the night before started to come back after a minute of confusion. He remembered he made it to Steve’s backyard, he’d been wandering for hours with a limp, he’d held in vomit until he got a mile away from the house from being hit-.

His eyes snapped open.

He fought Neil.

Once his eyes adjusted, he realized he was in a hospital room, and he started to panic. Max could have gotten taken away, Billy could be taken away. What the fuck did Steve do? A nurse rushed over to him when he tried to sit up and pushed him back down.

“Mr. Hargrove, please calm down.” She soothed. “You’re in a hospital, you’re safe.”

_ ‘The fuck I am’ _ he thought. “Where’s Max? Where’s my sister?”

“I’m here.” Max’s voice said.

Billy calmed down for a moment, and looked to his left. There was Max, looking small and afraid. Billy stopped struggling and the nurse let him go as Max approached the bed and sat down. They didn’t speak while the nurse left to get the doctor, just looked at each other for a while (probably only a few minutes).

The doctor, a middle aged man with brown hair, gave him the rundown of his injuries. Apparently he lucked out by not having internal bleeding, but he had plenty of bruises, a sprained ankle, possibly a concussion, and had to get glass removed from his scalp. The doc said to go easy on his ankle for five weeks and to come back in a week to get his scalp stitches removed. He was prescribed some pain meds, then the doctor left.

Once Billy and Max were alone, he turned to her and asked, “Are you okay?”

Max looked shocked that he even asked that. “I’m okay. Lucas helped me hide.”

“Did you go to the diner first?”

“Yeah. We were there until they closed. Then Lucas took me to this fort that his friend Will built and we hid there for a few hours.”

Before Billy could ask for more details, the door to the room opened and a police officer walked in. He was middle-aged with a mustache and a gruff, irritated expression. Billy could make out that the badge on his chest said he was the police chief. Fuck, the police got involved.

“Glad you’re awake.” The chief said. “My name is Chief Hopper, I’m with the Hawkins police department.”

Billy never trusted cops. One whiff of someone acting queer and they would go ape-shit on whoever it was. A few of his lays got arrested for false charges just because they were gay. Not to mention the cops didn’t give a shit that Billy would come to school with bruises, so he didn’t give Chief Hopper a response.

The Chief sighed. “I know you’re worried about Child Protective Services getting involved, your sister told me as much. But she also told me how you tried to protect her and Lucas Sinclair from your father. That’s admirable. Unfortunately, before anyone can be put in cuffs, I’ll need your side of the story.” He sat down in a chair near the door. “Your father did call the police after you ran to report you as a runaway. But after Will Byers called and explained what he knew, I knew there was more than your dad was letting on. So… can you please explain to me what happened?”

Chief Hopper seemed legitimately concerned for Billy’s wellbeing, which kind of freaked him out. Neil was usually able to sell a story convincingly and keep the cops off his tail, but Hopper seemed to have a pretty good bullshit detector. Though it could have also been because Billy didn’t have ‘insignificant’ injuries this time. He’d been in the hospital before for a broken arm or fractured jaw from surfing or Neil related injuries, never anything this bad. Billy looked over to Max, and she just nodded at him.

Billy took a deep breath and looked back to Hopper. He explained the whole story. He told Hopper about what started the fight (leaving out his relationship to Steve or how Neil found out), how Billy wandered for hours in the cold before he reached Steve’s house, and that he passed out as soon as Steve opened the door. He didn’t want to tell Hopper about how Neil had been beating him for years, or how his abuse made his mom leave, or that the police did dick all to help him. CPS would get involved if he did, and he couldn’t risk that.

The whole time Hopper wrote down everything in his notebook. He didn’t ask any questions beyond “who started the fight?” and “how long were you wandering around?”. He seemed to understand that Billy wasn’t telling the whole story, and when he was done, stood up and put his notebook away.

“I’ll be sure to add your statement to the report. You’re lucky you have friends like Steve Harrington that want to help you two.” Hopper almost left the room, but looked back at them at the door. “Just so you know, I’d make sure you two stayed in Hawkins. I have a few favors I can call in.”

***

Steve hadn’t left the waiting room all night. The kids, of course, had to go home after two hours, and Hopper was okay with driving them Steve’s place so they could get their bikes. Nancy also stopped by with some food and drinks, and they talked for a bit. By the time the sun was up, Steve hadn’t realized he had fallen asleep in the chair he was in. There wasn’t anyone in the room apart from the woman at the nurse’s station, and Steve’s back was aching from sleeping sitting up. He stood up and stretched his back out, where he heard multiple cracks, and rubbed his eyes.

“Rise and shine.” A familiar voice said.

Steve turned around and saw Hopper walk over to him. He’d already taken Steve’s statement when he’d shown up to help Billy, but it looked like Hopper just interviewed him.

“How is he?” Steve asked through a yawn.

Hopper sighed with a dejected look. “I can tell he’s not telling me  _ everything _ , just what happened pertaining to last night.”

“But it’s enough to arrest his dad, right?”

“Max and Billy’s statements are enough to get him arrested on assault of a minor and child abuse. Even then, it might only get him a few months in prison. There’s not much more I can do unless Child Protective Services are called.”

Steve felt his heart clench at the thought of CPS getting involved. He didn’t want Billy and Max taken away, they didn’t deserve it after all they’d been through. Max had made it pretty clear that neither of them wanted to be put in the system. But… if Mr. Hargrove didn’t hurt Billy ever again, maybe it was worth it. He couldn’t imagine what it was like getting that kind of abuse his entire life.

“Is there anything you  _ could _ do? If CPS got involved, I mean.”

“I already told them I could call in a few favors, but it’s up to them if they want to go through with it.”

Hopper patted Steve on the shoulder and left the waiting room.

***

“We should do it.” Max said.

Billy looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Do what?”

“Tell them everything.”

“No fucking way.” Billy snapped. “A lot of foster kids get put in shit families, we’re not doing it.”

“And we aren’t in a shit family already?” Max countered. “He put you in the hospital this time, even  _ you _ don’t deserve that.”

Billy looked up at the ceiling and didn’t respond for a minute. It was his own fault he was in the hospital. If he hadn’t fought back against Neil, they wouldn’t be here in the first place. He’d met too many kids that got put in families that just wanted the extra money. And when did Max give a shit about if Billy was okay? She hated him, and he hated her. Did she suddenly feel bad for him now that he was in a hospital bed? That thought started making him angry.

“Why do you care what happens to me?”

“What?”

“Do you think I’m a charity case just because I’m in the hospital?” He asked with a raised voice. “We have a roof over our heads, Max. That cop doesn’t give a shit about us.”

“He said he could call in some favors-!”

“Cops say that all the time! They blow smoke up your ass so you trust them and then they fuck you over. You’re not old enough to understand that. And you’re not old enough to understand that we have-.”

“He promised he wouldn’t!” Max said with angry tears. “He’s one of my friends’ dad, and he wouldn’t lie about that.” She got up with a squeak of the chair. “You may be okay with what Neil does, but I’m not. I’m done with him, with Hawkins, and your shit! I don’t care what happens to you, but don’t drag us down with you.”

Steve had heard the whole thing, and watched Max leave the room in angry tears. She didn’t even notice him standing in the hallway. He’d never heard Billy and Max fight before, and it seemed like this whole thing was Max’s breaking point. But what Billy said… he didn’t know what to think. It was almost like he was willing to take the abuse if it meant he had a home.

Billy hit his hand against the railing of his bed in anger. Max really didn’t get it, how could she? She’d only been with him and his dad for two years, and didn’t understand that dealing with Neil was better than being put into foster care. Max would stay with her mom, and they’d both have everything they needed. Billy was the one who got hit anyway, she never got a scrape from it. There was a knock at the door that took Billy out of his thoughts, and surprisingly, Steve walked in.

“Hey.” Steve said softly.

“Hi.”

Steve walked over to Billy’s bed and sat down in a seat. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like I went ten rounds with a semi truck.”

“You looked pretty bad last night. Do you have a concussion?”

“They said I lucked out. No concussion, and no internal bleeding. Could’ve been worse I guess.”

They sat in silence for a bit. It wasn’t uncomfortable, more companionable. Also Steve was trying to figure out how to convince Billy to talk to CPS. If the last few months were anything to go by, Neil needed to be arrested and put in prison.

“I know you talked to Hopper.” He started. “I get that you don’t really know him, but he really is worried about you guys.”

Billy sneered. “He’s a cop. Once he hears about you and me, he won’t give a shit.”

“No, he wouldn’t do that.” Billy opened his mouth, but Steve cut in. “Shut up, let me explain. Hopper actually cares about what happens to people around here. He actually has favors he can call in to help you guys stay together in Hawkins because of… things that happened last year. He’s a good guy, and he’ll do whatever he can to make sure you’re safe.”

“What do you mean ‘things that happened last year’?”

Steve shrugged. “I’ll tell you when you’re out of the hospital. But Billy, you can’t stay with you dad. He could kill you if you go back to him.”

“It was me who made the fight worse,” Billy defended. “It was my fault he did this.”

“Parents shouldn’t do that at all. Do you really want to keep living like you’re a human punching bag? Or do you want to just... live without getting hurt every day?”

Billy stared ahead with an angry look without replying. He knew what Steve was saying was true, and some would think Billy was an idiot for thinking otherwise. He just… didn’t want to lose the family he had left. Was it really worth getting beaten every other week? His mom’s family didn’t talk to him, and his dad’s family hated them. He’d probably also need a shrink, but that was a different problem for later on. Steve seemed to understand Billy wasn’t going to talk and left.

For five hours, Billy thought about what Steve said. He didn’t get any other visitors (he didn’t expect to), and he thought about his life under Neil’s roof. He thought about the lengths he was willing to go to keep Max and himself safe, how much he had taken over the years… and he realized he couldn’t keep going like this. Steve was right, Neil could kill him if he went back to the house. He’d actually fought back for once and Neil would probably beat him half to death for it. He asked the nurse to call Chief Hopper to have him come back, and he was almost scared to do it.


	12. UPDATE

With the holidays coming up, things are getting busy, and I have gift fics I'm working on, so this story will be on hold until after the New Year. I will 100% continue it, I just also have lots of other things going on.

Hope you all have wonderful holidays :)


	13. December 23rd, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy and Max get settled into their new foster home, and Steve has an idea.

The next few days, Billy went through a whole circus of forensic photographers, CPS interviews, and police questioning. They kept him in the hospital for two days to examine him for past injuries, do a psych evaluation, and put him and Max into a foster home. According to Chief Hopper, they did arrest Neil and he was going to be charged with child abuse, assault, and others that didn’t matter as much to Billy. All he cared about was that the bastard was getting thrown in jail, and that he and Max were free.

The home they ended up getting put into was in a more neighborly part of Hawkins. It wasn’t extremely fancy like Steve’s place, but it wasn’t a shit poor neighborhood like Neil’s house. The foster family they were put in was a man and wife, middle aged, two dogs. Apparently they had been fostering children for a few years, and were the type to go to church every Sunday. Max actually seemed to calm down a bit once they were at the foster home, and so did Billy.

Throughout all of it, Billy hadn’t talked to Steve. Not like that was a big deal, he hadn’t even been near a phone to call him or anything. It wouldn’t kill him to wait until school started again to see Steve (or at least that’s what he told himself).

Unbeknownst to Billy, Steve had been keeping track of everything that had been going on thanks to Hopper. Since it was the holidays, the court hearings wouldn’t be until after the New Year, but all Steve had to do was talk about how Billy showed up at his house, telling Max and Lucas to go to the police station, and Hopper showing up to his house. That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t nervous about it… or scared shitless. He’d seen crime shows, he knew Neil’s lawyer would try to tear him down with any means necessary. He just had to keep a level head, for Billy and Max’s sake.

At around 9 pm, Steve decided to call Billy to put his plan into place. He’d talked to his parents about the situation with Billy (excluding the queer parts of their relationship), and asked them if he could invite Billy and Max over for Christmas. Surprisingly, they’d been understanding and agreed, but only Christmas Eve because they had family coming over on Christmas Day. He put Billy’s foster home number in, and was nervous as the phone rang. Hopper assured him that the foster parents were great, but he wasn’t too sure.

_ “Hello? Parker residence.” _ An adult female voice answered.

“Hi, can I talk to Billy? Tell him it’s Steve Harrington.”

_ “Oh! You’re the boy who got him to the hospital!”  _ She sounded absolutely overjoyed at that.  _ “Before I hand you over, I’d just like to say how thankful I am that you got him the help he needed. If it weren’t for you, him and Max would still be with that horrible father of theirs.” _

Steve couldn’t help but blush at the praise. “Thank you, ma’m, I’d have done it for any of my close friends.”

_ “You’re very welcome. Let me get Billy.” _

Billy was sat in his new bedroom window with a cigarette, his sprained ankle balanced on a box of his weights. He and Max had just gotten their small amount of things a few hours ago, but he didn’t want to unpack yet. Laura (his new foster mom) said until his ankle was fully healed, he could smoke  _ out of the window _ in his room. The reason being was they had taken in kids who were addicted to drugs, and the residue of smoke could trigger addictive urges. Not that Billy knew anything about that shit, he’d only tried harder drugs once in LA, but it was too intense for him.

“Billy!” Laura called from downstairs. “You have a phone call. It’s from your friend Steve that helped you.”

Billy couldn’t help but smile as he put out his cigarette. He actually noticed he’d been smiling a lot more lately, and he hadn’t smiled this much since his mom was still with them. Billy managed to hobble his way down the stairs to the kitchen where Laura had already pulled up a stool for him to sit on next to the phone.

“Take as long as you need,” She said as she handed the phone over.

Billy nodded as he got up on the stool, then she left the room. If he was honest with himself, she kind of reminded Billy of his mom. Despite what Neil had put them through, his mom would always give Billy as much love and attention as she could, and Laura Parker didn’t seem to have a shortage of that. Billy got comfortable on the stool and put the phone to his ear.

“Hey, Steve.”

_ “Hey, how’s everything with…?” _

“The Parkers are fine. They’ve treated us great, actually, better than Neil could ever do, at least.”

_ “Is that… good?” _

Billy looked to see if either Joseph or Laura were listening in, and whispered, “It’s honestly amazing. But don’t tell anyone I told you that.”

_ “I won’t say a word,” _ Billy could hear the smile in Steve’s voice.  _ “So listen, I was wondering… do you and Max have plans for Christmas Eve?” _

Billy paused and thought for a moment. Laura and Joseph hadn’t really talked to him and Max about Christmas. They were so focused on moving in that he’d honestly forgotten it was almost Christmas at all. But he did hear something about Max spending Christmas with the Sinclairs.

“I think Max is heading to Lucas Sinclair’s for Christmas, but not really anything else.”

_ “So for sure you have nothing going on Christmas Eve?” _

”Not really.”

_ “Great, then you and Max are coming to my place for Christmas Eve-,” _ Steve paused as if he realized what he said.  _ “I mean, if you want to. I just - I talked to my parents about it, and they said they’d be okay with you and Max coming over on Christmas Eve. I just figured… you’d want an okay Christmas after everything this week.” _

Steve felt like he may have shoved his foot in his mouth with that reaction. He just got over-excited at the idea of Billy coming over to celebrate Christmas, even if it was Christmas Eve. Though he was happy that Billy was doing better at his new foster home, and he even sounded happier from it. Steve just hoped he hadn’t overstepped his boundaries on this.

After a brief pause on the other line, Billy asked,  _ “Do we have to bring presents with us for you and your parents?” _

Steve smiled, “Nah, wouldn’t want you guys to get the scraps after all the last minute Christmas shoppers. It’d just really be dinner and watching Christmas movies.”

_ “I’ll ask Laura and Joseph. Doctor said I can’t really drive until they’re sure my concussion is gone, so I’d have to get a ride with them.” _

“Ok, cool. Just let me know by tomorrow, mom wants to… y’know, buy everything we need for five people.”

_ “Hey, even if we can’t make it, you get extra food for leftovers.” _

“True, but that’d be even more work for my mom. And you don’t want to miss out on her famous garlic salt mashed potatoes. You’ll never wanna eat anything else again.”

_ “Not to diss your mom’s cooking, but Pacific Dining Car is  _ life changing _. If you ever get a chance to go to LA, you need to go there.” _

“I’ll keep that in mind. So I’ll hopefully see you tomorrow?”

Billy smiled softly. “Yeah, probably.”

_ “Great, so talk to you later.” _

“Yeah… by the way, Steve…” Billy paused so he could figure out how to phrase it. “Thank you, for everything.”

There was more Billy wanted to say with that. He wanted to talk about how most adults back in LA didn’t say a word, how his mom just left him because she couldn’t handle it anymore, just spill his guts about the entire thing, but he knew it was better to say it in person. He felt like Steve deserved to know the whole story after everything that happened.

_ “You’re welcome.” _


End file.
